Our School Grounds: Providing Food – Borders
Important Things to Remember
INTRODUCTION
Before picking up tools it’s really important to think about the feature you are about
to create, especially if the feature is a permanent one like a border. The best
borders will have been carefully planned before work begins taking into account the
physical, ecological and practical concerns. Below are some pointers to consider
before getting stuck in.
Physical Constraints
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What pH is your soil? It is really important to know this before you get planting
as different plants prefer different types of soil. Soil testing kits are available
from most garden centres and there are step by step instructions from the
Garden’s World website here.
Think about light and shade as different plants have different requirements.
Light-loving plants will struggle in shaded borders and vice versa.
How exposed will your border be? Plants need some shelter if they
are to thrive, they will really struggle to grow in very exposed
locations. Do you need to also create shelter by planting trees or
other features such as Bee Banks to provide protection?
Practical Concerns
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How you will access your border to build, weed and water it? Think about where
water can be brought from and how you will transport materials to and from it.
The bigger a border is the longer maintenance such as weeding and watering
will take. Think carefully about how long your border will take to look after as a
smaller, well maintained bed is more likely to help pollinators than a larger
neglected one.
The wider a border is, the harder it is to access the middle and back without
damaging plants at the edge. The ideal border width for smaller people is about
60cm so they can easily reach to the centre.
How you will edge your borders? This isn’t essential but can increase interest
and visual effect. There are lots of edging ideas here at the Guiding Home
website.
This is a partnership project with: Learning through Landscapes, Buglife, Butterfly Conservation, Field Studies Council, OPAL, University of
Stirling, TCV and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust
Ecological Issues
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FOOD ALL YEAR ROUND
When planting your border, try to consider the seasons it will flower. Our
pollinators need food from the early spring to late autumn, so try to make sure
there is always something for them to feed on. The RHS (Royal Horticultural
Society) has an excellent flower finder to help you.
Remember that pollinators such as butterflies and moths need particular plants
for their caterpillars to feed on and it is not only the flowers but the leaves that
are important.
Many of our wild pollinators are not able to fly very far to forage for food. Think
about how you can combine other Pollinator Home features near your border to
limit the distance creatures such as Solitary Bees have to travel from their nests.
Polli:Nation Resources: What Pollinators Eat.
A nectaring Common Carder Bee by Bernie Gervin, and a Hoverfly by Fionnuala Parnell
This is a partnership project with: Learning through Landscapes, Buglife, Butterfly Conservation, Field Studies Council, OPAL, University of
Stirling, TCV and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust